


One Thousand Springs

by cresserendipity



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Business Trip, Childhood Friends, Fluff, M/M, Post-Timeskip, Single Parent Kuroo Tetsurou, Single Parents, businessmen kuroken, i wanna keep her in my pocket, kenma apparently has two kuroos eating on the palm of his hand, kuroken business partners, super cute chiharu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26006872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cresserendipity/pseuds/cresserendipity
Summary: Chiharu wants his Papa to stop getting sad.It just so happens that Kenma apparently makes Kuroo veryveryhappy.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 23
Kudos: 264





	One Thousand Springs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [protectress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectress/gifts).



> For Sam. I hope you like it! Always stay healthy and good luck on your acads! ;)

“Kenma, hey, sorry, I might not be able to go with you to Nagasaki…” Kuroo said, the phone tucked in between his ear and shoulder, while his hands are busy braiding Chiharu’s hair smoothly like he’s done it a hundred times before (in his defense, he _had_ done it a hundred times before).

 _“And why not?”_ Kenma asked over the phone.

“Mom and Dad’s gonna be out of town that week too, and everyone else has work, no one’s gonna watch over Chiharu…” Kuroo tied the elastic to the end of the braid, letting it go with a snap. “Alright baby, go put your shoes on…” He helped Chiharu stand up, the little girl jumping on her feet and dusting her behind.

“Papa, are you not going to work because of me?” she asked, eyes wide with unadulterated curiosity.

Kuroo opened his mouth to speak, tried to think of a good way to answer it with both honesty and kindness. Kenma stayed silent at the other line, he probably heard Chiharu speak too.

“Well…” Kuroo started, “taking care of Chiharu comes first… so I’ll take some time off work… Kenma-san and Lev-san can handle it—”

 _“No, just take Chiharu with you. I’ll need you there, Kuro…”_ Kenma suddenly said from the other side. Well, it wasn’t as much as he _needed_ Kuroo there, and more like he didn’t want to be with Lev, Kuroo’s assistant.

“But—”

_“It’s okay, you can stay with Chiharu in the hotel room and I’ll attend the meetings, but it will be easier for us to reach decisions if we talk in person rather than over the phone for after-meetings…”_

Kuroo sighed, he promised Kenma he wouldn’t do this. Promised him before they became business partners that he would be able to balance his daughter and his work perfectly.

But Chiharu comes first. That is non-negotiable. So even if this is a very important meeting, he’d drop it in a heartbeat. But maybe he doesn’t need to do that.

“Are you sure?” Kuroo asked, looking at Chiharu who’s just staring at her, still waiting for him to answer her question.

_“Yeah, yeah…”_

“Alright…”

_“I’ll see you later at the office?”_

“See you… and thanks…”

Kenma just hung up, so Kuroo removed the phone from his ear and took Chiharu in his arms, carrying her over to the door.

“Wanna go to Nagasaki with me and Kenma-san?” Kuroo asked, smiling widely. It’s their first trip together, since he didn’t want to travel with Chiharu before because she was too young.

Chiharu’s eyes sparkled, and she nodded vigorously, her bangs getting messy with the movement, pink cheeks slightly bouncing. “Yes! I want!” Then it seemed like she realized something, she pouted and looked down, suddenly gloomy. “But can I? I’m only four years old… are four year olds allowed in Nagasiki?” 

Kuroo tried not to coo and just squish Chiharu in his arms. Even after four years, he still gets heart attacks whenever Chiharu is especially cute.

“Yes, of course! They love four year olds there. And it’s Nagasaki… say it again?” Kuroo encouraged. “Na?”

“Na.”

“Ga?”

“Ga.”

“Sa?”

“Sa.”

“Ki!”

“Ki!” 

“Nagasaki!”

“Nagasasiki!” Chiharu cheered, chubby fist going up as she giggled and leaned on her father’s shoulder. Kuroo just laughed and shook his head, placing a kiss on Chiharu’s black crown of hair.

Four years ago Kuroo thought his life would be over with just one mistake. He was still young, and he was still trying to prove something to himself and to everyone else around him. That’s why when one spring day four years ago, when a girl he barely recognized showed up in his apartment carrying an infant in her arms saying it’s _his,_ Kuroo wanted to run.

He didn’t want it. He didn’t expect it. He wasn’t prepared for it.

He was only 24 years old then.

He’s 28 now, and _god_ is he thankful he got his head out of his ass. 

He didn’t really have a choice when the girl shoved the bundle of blanket in his arms and dropped the small baby bag by his front door, didn’t have a choice when she said she will be away to get rehabilitation. So those first few months, he gave Chiharu to his parents to be taken care of. She didn’t even have a name yet, the girl said Kuroo can pick.

Kuroo didn’t want to pick. He didn’t want a child.

Until one day he decided to drop by his parents’ house and peeked at her crib. She was trying to stand, gripping the fence of the crib with drool dripping out of her mouth. She looked at him with wide eyes—the same exact shade of brown as Kuroo’s—and then she raised her tiny little hand, reaching for him.

“Papa…” she giggled. And that’s how Kuroo found himself smitten by his child.

Eventually he found out she called everyone “papa” and “mama” because that’s the only words she could say, but it did its part. Kuroo accepted that this child is _his._ He may not had a choice on all of the other things that happened, but he had a choice not to be a bastard father, he had a choice to not run away from his responsibilities.

And he had a choice on what to name her.

So he named her Chiharu. _One Thousand Springs._

* * *

“This is the hotel, right?” Kuroo asked, squinting at the entrance lobby of the hotel building in front of them. 

Kenma chanced a look at the building, but immediately went back to his phone. “Yeah.”

“Alright, let’s check in. Lev said he already reserved the rooms.” Kuroo twisted on his seat to look at the back, where Chiharu is strapped in her car seat. Her eyes are opened wide, as always, and is already looking around and marveling at the difference of the environment from Tokyo. “We’re here, Haru…” 

Chiharu just looked at him and grinned, exposing all her teeth.

  
  


“Hi, good afternoon.” Kuroo approached the receptionist, with Chiharu holding his one hand and their luggage in his other hand. Kenma was beside him, observing the hotel.

“Good afternoon sir, welcome to Itachiyama Royal Hotel. How may I help you?”

“Ah... we have a reservation today. It should be under Kuroo Tetsurou?” 

The receptionist typed on his computer. “Kuroo… Tetsurou… Ah, right. We reserved a room for you with two beds, is that correct?”

Kuroo furrowed his eyebrows. That is certainly _not_ correct.

That caught Kenma’s attention, who’s looking at them in silence, fiddling with his fingers.

“Ahhh… no… we reserved two separate rooms?” Kuroo laughed. Oh god he’s gonna kill Lev when they get back.

It’s the receptionist’s turn to be confused, and he narrowed his eyes at his screen. “I’m sorry sir, it says here that the reservation made was for one room with two beds. And I’m afraid we’re all fully booked as of the moment…”

Kuroo’s jaw clenched, and he turned to look at Kenma. “Wanna check other hotels? Or you can go up and we’ll find another one…”

Kenma wanted to drop dead right now in the lobby. Flying for three hours and driving for another hour drained him to the core. He looked down to Chiharu on Kuroo’s other side who’s staying silent, she must be tired too, even if she’s excited to be out of town. Sure enough, she’s already drifting off, head bobbing and eyes falling close. 

“Let’s just take it. Chiharu’s tired and there’s two beds anyway. I wanna go rest before tonight’s meeting…”

The meeting went as planned, with Kenma running on two cups of coffee and a two-hour power nap and Kuroo staying in the room lurking in Kenma’s minutes of the meeting on google docs, while Chiharu sat in front of the window with a sketch pad in hand.

They got room service for dinner, and it was overall an okay night, with Chiharu asking curious question after curious question at Kuroo. (“Are we going to live here now with Kenma-san?” “No…” “Why not?” “Because we’re only gonna be here for a short while…” “Then… are we going to live with Kenma-san when we get back to Tokyo?”)

Kenma tried to pretend he wasn’t affected by Chiharu’s questions, just stayed at the side and smiled. Until…

“But you’re very sad sometimes and with Kenma-san you’re very happy…” Chiharu said, tilting her head to the side, innocent curiosity reflected in her eyes.

Kuroo coughed into his tea, briefly looking at Kenma, and immediately sending a _look_ at Chiharu that she knew was a signal for her that she asked an impolite question.

But Kenma just smirked and looked at her. “Is that right, Chiharu-chan? Papa gets very sad sometimes?”

Chiharu nodded, frowning. “Yeah, he cries and then drinks whiskey…”

Kuroo’s eyes widened, looking over at her daughter. “How do you know what whiskey is?!” Oh my god, what is he exposing to his child?! He doesn’t drink much, only when he’s especially feeling like shit, and even then, he made sure Chiharu’s sleeping. Besides, he _doesn’t even drink_ whiskey! It’s just a can or two of beer at most.

Kenma just breathed out a laugh, looking suspiciously at Kuroo.

“Lev-san said his favorite drink is whiskey and that only grown ups drink whiskey…” Chiharu frowned.

 _Oh god,_ he’s really going to kill Lev when they get back. Kuroo just sighed and massaged his temple. “Haru… whiskey is a type of alcohol… it’s a drink that’s not allowed for kids, okay?”

Haru blinked at him and nodded. “It’s okay. I like strawberry milk the best.”

Kenma couldn’t help but smile at her, she’s just very endearing and smart. Like a softer version of Kuroo.

“Do you want Papa not to be sad anymore?” Kenma whispered, leaning towards Chiharu like they’re sharing a secret.

Kuroo raised an eyebrow and stared at them.

Chiharu leaned and cupped a hand to her mouth. “Will Kenma-san make Papa happy?”

“Should I try?” Kenma wiggled his eyebrows. 

Chiharu just nodded excitedly, which made Kenma laugh. “Alright, I’ll try…”

“What are you talking about behind my back?” Kuroo asked, pretending to be mad.

Chiharu giggled and jumped up the sofa and gave Kuroo a tight hug. “Papa! Me and Kenma-san are gonna make you very very happy!”

Kuroo hugged her back, sitting her on his lap and caressing her hair. He raised an eyebrow at Kenma. _You’re gonna make me happy?_

Kenma just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. 

Kuroo was fast asleep on the other bed, while Kenma was sitting against the headboard of the other one, face illuminated by the screen of his switch. 

Suddenly he felt the bed dip, and he looked over, only to see Chiharu climbing up the bed, with her favorite teddy bear clutched in one arm.

“Haru-chan? What’s wrong?” Kenma asked, pausing his game for a moment.

“Kenma-san… can I sit with you for awhile?” she asked. Her hair is messy from sleep, and there are pillow marks on her chubby cheeks.

Kenma looked over the other bed, where Kuroo was fast asleep, scratching his stomach and stretching out.

“Did you wake up?” Kenma asked, scooting over and lifting his blanket so Chiharu could lay beside him.

“Uh-huh…” Chiharu answered, cuddling close to Kenma, leaning on his torso and looking at the screen of his switch.

Kenma froze. He had never been a cuddly person, never been good with sharing personal space with other people, but somehow his heart feels full with this tiny human cuddling up to him. He brushed her hair back so it didn't go into her face, and then placed his arm over her, unpausing the game.

“I always wake up sometimes at night and I just draw stuff until I fall asleep again… sometimes I go talk to Papa but he’s always busy… I see you’re not sleeping so I think I can talk to you…” Chiharu said, then she jolted, looking up at Kenma. “Is that okay?”

Kenma smiled softly and nodded. “Yes, it’s okay…” 

Sometimes he’s surprised at how polite and smart Chiharu is, but then he remembers she’s Kuroo’s daughter, so maybe he shouldn’t be.

_ He raised her well… _

Upon hearing that, Chiharu snuggled against Kenma’s stomach.

“Hey, Chiharu-chan…” Kenma called, fingers lazily tapping on his switch. “Why did you say I make your Papa happy?”

Chiharu pouted and furrowed her eyebrows, eyes looking up as she thought about it. “Because it’s true?”

Kenma chuckled,  _ a smartass like Kuroo, too.  _ “I mean, how can you say that I make your Papa happy? Did he tell you?”

She just hummed in thought, shaking her head. “He just smiles a lot when he’s with you, not like with Lev-san, he’s always mad at Lev-san…” she wrinkled her nose. “And when he looks at you his eyes go really sparkly… like… like... like dianamonds!” she exclaimed, extremely proud of herself for remembering diamonds.

Kenma laughed, she’s so adorable. “You mean diamonds?”

“Yes, the sparkly stuff…”

_ So your eyes turn to diamonds when you look at me, huh, Kuro… _

“Then, Chiharu-chan… will it be okay with you if your Papa loves me?” Kenma asked tentatively, hoping it was an okay question to ask.

“Hm? Yes! Will you love Papa too?” 

Kenma smiled, thinking about the question. “Chiharu-chan… wanna know a secret?” Chiharu turned her body, looking up at Kenma with wide eyes and nodded excitedly.

He leaned down until he could whisper in her ear.

_ “I’ve loved your Papa since we were eight years old…” _

Kuroo stretched out on the bed, smiling at the wide soft mattress that he has all to himself—

Hang on. He opened his eyes, looking beside him, searching for his daughter who was nowhere to be found. But then a certain small human caught his eye from Kenma’s bed, and he stood up, surveying the scene.

Chiharu in Kenma’s arms, sleeping softly while she hugged her teddy bear. Kenma’s arms holding Chiharu softly, strands of hair covering his face, breathing quietly. 

Kuroo raised his hand over his chest, feeling his heart scream at the sight. 

_ He wouldn’t mind getting used to this sight… _

* * *

It’s their last night in Nagasaki. The entire week had been fun, Kenma would go to meetings, with Kuroo supporting him on the side, and then they’ll talk about it when he gets back to the hotel room. They sometimes went out in the mornings to tour around, bringing Chiharu to the Clover Garden and the Inasa-yama Park where she ran around in circles and pointed at the sights until she fell asleep out of exhaustion.

Even Kenma who didn’t particularly enjoy walking around looked like he’s having fun just watching Chiharu get excited over everything. Kuroo guessed her daughter just has that effect on people, an infectious positive energy.

At night, Kenma continued to stay up late and play on his switch, and Chiharu continued to wake up in the middle of the night and crawl over his bed, snuggling into him until she fell asleep. Kuroo still hasn't gotten used to his morning heart attacks.

When Kenma asked Chiharu if she’s okay with sleeping with him, she just wrinkled her nose and said, “I like sleeping with you better than sleeping with Papa. You’re soft and you smell good.” Kenma almost couldn’t stop the tears of joy that burned his eyes.

It was the middle of the night now, and their hotel room was quiet except for their soft breathings. Kenma turned over in his sleep, and then stilled.

He patted the space beside him. And then the other side.

He sat up, flinging his blanket away. No Chiharu.

He looked at the other bed where Kuroo was sprawled out. No Chiharu either. He stood up, checked the bathroom, the living room, the wardrobe, the veranda, under the beds. No Chiharu.

Kenma gulped, his heart beating faster, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He twisted his fingers, pacing the room.  _ Oh god, where could she have gone? _

He exhaled and went over Kuroo’s bed, shaking his shoulder. “Kuro… Kuro…”

Kuroo moaned and swatted his hand, turning to the other side. Kenma clucked his tongue and hit Kuroo’s bare shoulder. “Kuro!” 

Kuroo jolted, eyes opening and looking at Kenma blearily. “Kenma? Why?”

“Chiharu…  _ she’s gone… _ ”

  
  
  


“Kenma… calm down…” Kuroo said. Kenma could barely put his shoes on, he was shaking so much, while Kuroo was just calm, taking his wallet and phone.

“Kuro how can you be so calm?! _Your_ daughter  is _gone_! _While_ we're out of town!”

Kuroo just shook his head, opening the hotel door and heading outside, Kenma in his tail. “Chiharu’s smart. I’ve taught her what to do in this situation.”

“You taught her what to do in case she gets  _ kidnapped?! _ ” Kenma gasped.

“Not kidnapped! Lost.  _ Lost.” _

“How can she be lost? Does she sleepwalk?” 

Kuroo shook his head. “No, but I’m sure she’ll have a good explanation when we see her.” After all, she never does anything without a particular reason.

They entered the elevator and went to the ground floor. The entire hotel has dimmed, everyone was probably sleeping.

When they arrived at the ground floor, Kuroo walked to the lobby. Kenma just followed him, confused at the fact that Kuroo looked like he knew  _ exactly  _ where to go.

And he did. 

There beside the on-duty receptionist was Chiharu, happily sipping on a carton of strawberry milk. 

“See?” Kuroo said, chin held high, looking extremely proud of his daughter. 

“Papa! Kenma-san!” Chiharu called, waving a hand over her head.

“Haru-chan!”

Kuroo’s eyes widened as Kenma ran to his daughter, taking her into his arms and surveying her. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? How did you get here?” Kenma fussed.

Chiharu just giggled, a little bit of milk dribbling over the side of her lips, which Kenma wiped with the sleeve of his hoodie.

Kuroo raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed as he looked at them. Kozume Kenma, who would wrinkle his nose in disgust when someone even breaths too hard in his direction, wiped Chiharu’s drool with his clothes?

“Kenma-san, don’t be worried, me and Papa knows how to find each other when we’re lost,” she said, patting Kenma’s head with a chubby hand.

“And how is that?”

“I find a grown up person who looks kind and wait for Papa to find me.” She pointed at the receptionist, who, admittedly,  _ did  _ look kind.

Kenma sighed, standing up and holding his hand out to Chiharu. “Let’s go back?”

Chiharu nodded, waving goodbye at the receptionist and took Kenma’s hand. They walked over to where Kuroo is standing, amused.

“Papa look! I have strawberry milk.”

Kuroo took her into his arms, hoisting her up so they’re face to face. 

“Kuroo Chiharu.”

“Yes Papa Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“Why did you go out of the room?”

Chiharu pouted and sighed, shoulders drooping. “I heard a bell outside and I thought it was ice cream so I went out but it was already far so I followed it. And then I got lost…”

Kuroo sighed, brushing Haru’s bangs out of her eyes. “Don’t do that next time, okay? Especially at night. Wake us up if you want to go somewhere. It’s really dangerous…”

Chiharu tilted her head to the side, looking at Kenma who’s standing beside them. “Kenma-san too?”

“Huh?” Kenma asked.

“Can I wake you up too if I wanna go somewhere?” 

Kenma furrowed his eyebrows. “Yes, of course. Why?”

Chiharu perked up, eyes going wide and looked at her father. “Papa! Kenma-san is going to sleep with us from now on?!”

“Huh?!” Kuroo exclaimed.  _ How did she get to that conclusion?  _ “No, no—”

“Do you want me to sleep with you?” Kenma asked her, ignoring Kuroo.

Chiharu just nodded vigorously, excited at the idea.  _ She really liked Kenma.  _

Kenma smiled softly, reaching up to boop Haru’s nose. “Okay then… I’ll sleep with you…” he said. “... if that’s okay with Kuro…”

Kuroo blinked at him, stunned.  _ Did he just _ —

He looked at the two, who’s just looking at each other, both whipped at the thought of seeing more of each other. 

He slowly smiled, raising an eyebrow at Kenma.

“So are you going to make me very very happy?” he asked. 

Kenma looked up at him, eyes clear, and nodded. “I’m going to try and make you both very  _ very  _ happy…”

**Author's Note:**

> Aaahhhh I love Chiharu so much, she's so lovely and cute. I hope you guys liked it! (Also, follow me on twitter @suikabeifong , I write more Haikyuu stuff there.)


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